Rail-joint.



No. 895,921. PATBNTED AUG. 11,51908.

y T.; J. WELSH. RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION IILED FEB. 26, 1907.

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THOMAS J. WELOH, OF SALEM, MISSOURI.

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 11, 1908.

Application filed February 26, 1907. Serial No. 359,374.

To all whom iii may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS J. WELon, a l

citizen of the United States of America, residing at Salem, in the county of Dent and State of Missouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to rail joints, and one of the principal objects of the same is to provide strong, reliable and eflicient means for securing together the meeting ends of railway rails, and to prevent spreading or creeping of the rails.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rail joint which will not require fish plates, and in which a single bolt will hold the parts firmly together.

These and other objects may be attained by means of the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a rail joint made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectionalview on the line 33,Fig. 1. Fig. 4

rails. Fig. 5 is a similar view of one end of the other rail.

Referring to the drawing for a more par ticular description of my invention, the numeral 1 designates one end of one of the rails, and the numeral 2 designates the end of the other rail. The rail 1 is provided with a socket or recessed end 3, said recess having a laterally extending portion 4 within the tread portion f the rail, and said recess extending downward through the web portion 6 of the rail end for a distance back of the abutting portion of said rail, and under the base flange 7 a recess 8 is formed and provided with a shoulder 9. The end of the rail 1 is provided with a cutaway portion forming a shoulder 10, and an extended portion 11 forming the abutting end 12 of the rail. The rail member 2 is provided with a web portion 13 having a lateral flange 14 to fit within the recess 4, and a base flange portion 15 to fit within the recess 8 in the base flange 7 of the member 1. A shoulder 16 is formed by cutting away a portion of the tread surface, of the web and the base flange of the member 2, a distance back from the abutting end of said member, and a projecting portion 17 is provided with a shoulder 18 formed by cutting away the tread portion, the web, and the base flange of the rail member 2. Slots 19 are formed in the web portions 6 and 13 of the joint, and a single bolt 20 is passed through said slots when brought into alinement by inserting the portion 14 and the web 13 in the socket or recess formed in the member 1. The flange 7 of the member 1 is provided with a notch or cutaway portion 21, and the flange portion 15 of the member 2 is provided with a similar notch or recess '22, and when the twomembers are secured together, these notches lie in different vertical planes, as shown in Fig. 2, and the spikes for holding'the joint to the ties are driven at these points, thus serving to brace the joint at two places in diflerent planes.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that 1s a slde elevation of one end of one of the a rail oint made 1n accordance with my inl vention will hold the rails firmly in place, will require but a single bolt, and does not require the use of fish plates.

j Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

The herein described rail joint comprising 1 a rail having a longitudinal socket in one end thereof, said socket having a lateral recess at its upper portion and said rail having a recessed base flange and the other rail having a projected portion corresponding to the socket and fitted therein, offset shoulders on the rail ends, and a single bolt for holding the two rails together at the joint, the recessed base flanges being out of alinement.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

l j THOMAS J. WELCH.

Witnesses:

CALVIN WELon, PRESTON RILEY. 

